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Popper Knocker (Klackers)
by (various)
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Read memories from others. |
This memory was added on: December 26, 2004
I NEVER got the hang of it. I tried, but all I did was get it all tangled up. I also worried about hitting myself in the face or forearm. So I would keep my arm extended. They were advertised as Clik-Claks on TV in the early 70's.
Mike
1961
This memory was added on: November 17, 2004
I remember the bruises on my forearms from these things....ouch...
alex
1969
This memory was added on: November 14, 2004
I can remember klackers and the many telephone lines that sported a couple every ew feet
Brian
1965
This memory was added on: October 26, 2004
when these where taken off market my dad bought four trailer loads of them at a sale in florda something like 60,000 sets but couldn't sell them so me and my brother had a lot of them to play with teacher could take set one day have another set the next then my dad bought surplus fishing rods drilled hole out bigger in klacker ball and sold as driveway makers
duane
1963
This memory was added on: October 25, 2004
I don't remember why, but we called them Moon Rocks. They were labeled Klackers. I've heard other names as well. That must have been the late 60's to early 70's. After the 1st moon landing though.
Don
1956
This memory was added on: October 25, 2004
I found some clackers ofr sale but he said there were just a few left
I called them Knicker Knockers
I found most of mins in a tree at scout camp...
Dean
1968
This memory was added on: October 25, 2004
I have a purple pair I wanted to sell on Ebay but they ended my auction! These are clear glass and the color purple with leather straps in great condition. I will sell them for 40.00 shipped with paypal. If you want them the first person that emails me can have them. I have had my memories with them and now would like to pass them on!
mmarsella
This memory was added on: October 20, 2004
My friend and I often discuss fond memories of our childhood. Klackers have many times been the topic of discussion. That is why for his (60's retro) 40th birthday party, I had to try... I googled Klackers, Clackers, Click Clackers, etc. I had forgotten the term Popper Knockers. I was thrilled to have found someone that was selling them. I ordered 3 of them (translucent of course) and I am anxiously awaiting their arrival.
What I remember about them is that they were all the rage. If you were born in the 60's, you know what they are, even if you don't know what they were called. If you don't remember them, it could only be from whacking yourself in the head with them one too many times. I never got real good at it, but spent hours trying. If I could manage to do it 4 or 5 times in a row, I was excited. I remember getting to 8 one time.. my wrist took the 9th. I marveled at those who could do it effortlessly. I am glad I found this site. It's great knowing that so many people share similar memories.
Kevin
1965
This memory was added on: October 4, 2004
Klackers didn't do much. I just remember one trick I could do and it wasn't even that good. I can imagine all of the chipping and cracking going on with the deadly glass ones, but going with plastic was easier (and physically safer) for me.
Although those years are way behind me, I feel like I've lived through them. I know everything about them anyway... Child of the Sixties... that's what mother calls me!
Mary
1990
This memory was added on: September 28, 2004
my older brother had a set that i found in the junk drawer, they were chipped and did'nt function very well. but when i was about 10 years old they sold a new style of them with plastic balls that were a little smaller than the glass & had a really nice trigger style handle they were awesome! if anyone knows where to find these newer plastic ones email me
chris
1975
This memory was added on: September 25, 2004
i had the clear blue glass ones and my older sister had red, I think I was like 4 and of course they were taken away cuz they were made of glass. Well a few years ago when my parents sold the old house I found the red ones in a box. I still have them. Brought back alot of memories for me and my friends when I pulled them out!!!
Carl
1966
This memory was added on: September 23, 2004
I can remember what the halls at school sounded like as everyone was Klacking between classes. Eventually they were outlawed at school when people starte twirling them and rolling them down the halls to watch them tangle around someone's legs and trip them. What a weird group we were as kids.
Mitch Duszynski
1959
This memory was added on: August 31, 2004
These toys had other names for them and I loved it! I do remember when they stopped making them because it caused some damages. As much as I "klacked" I was fortunate not to get hurt.
Debbie
1960
This memory was added on: August 30, 2004
A little sister of a friend couldn't say her "r's" so Popper Knockers became "Poppoo Knockoos" Of course we wouldn't let her play.......
Jayna
1954
This memory was added on: August 18, 2004
I was really young when I got my first set of Klackers. I call them click clackers. Mine were clear purple with glitter in the glass.
I didnt use them for what they were supposed to be used for. I spent all my time slinging them in the air practicing to be a "Wild Kingdom" pigmy. LOL
Needless to say, they ended up in the highline wires.
Quatonya
1969
This memory was added on: August 6, 2004
THEY WERE BIG AT MY SCHOOL FOR ABOUT A MONTH. WE MAINLY USED THEM AS TOOLS FOR MY BATMAN UTILITY BELT. YOU COULD BRING DOWN A RUNNING THUG BY THE ANKLES FROM ABOUT 20 FT. WHEN THEY WERE OUTLAWED, WE SWITCHED TO FLINGING DUNCAN YO-YO'S.NOT AS EFFECTIVE, BUT THEY STILL WORKED.
CHRIS
1961
This memory was added on: July 31, 2004
Gosh, we use to call them Kilik Klacks and you were soooo cool if you had them. Until my brother threw them at us and mom took them away....
Damian
1967
This memory was added on: July 28, 2004
Ah, Klackers. Never was allowed to have them. I remember the older kids playing with them. I'd get whipped in the head or on my arms. Lethal. Didn't even have to own a pair and you'd still suffer from these toys. But as dangerous as they were, I wanted a pair so bad. Read the note above me, laughed when I read that someone else played knuckles too.. we called it bloody knuckles. Still carry the scares today.
laura
1966
This memory was added on: July 23, 2004
AAAAAhhhhhhh yes. Klackers. I'd nearly forgotten them. But alas, I remember all the bruises on my arms from playing with this addictive toy. Almost as bad as playing knuckles with my brothers. Those were the days!!!
Marcia
1956
This memory was added on: July 19, 2004
...ouch...
Troy David
1971
This memory was added on: July 15, 2004
This is the first of the "recalled toys" as I remember. It took about a month and a half for them to be BANNED from the school yard. In the hands of a little girl they were not likely to meet skulls but when little boys grabbed these bolo's of death...well I can still hear the screams!!
Rick Rockwell
1969
This memory was added on: July 9, 2004
Talk about stupid. Of course I had a set. Lets take two glass balls, tie them together with string and hit them together as fast and hard as possible. It's a wonder we survived the 70s. No car seats, no bike helmets and glass balls to smash together. What a great life!!!!!!
Bill
1962
This memory was added on: July 9, 2004
I had 2 pairs, one clear glass and the other orange (hard plastic). It took a lot of bruises and a sore wrist to learn how to make them work. The glass ones were re-called soon after they were put on the store shelves. Mom took them back and got me my orange set. I still have them (everything original). Infact, my kids were just trying to make them work last week and gave up with bruised arms. HA! I am still the master klacker at my home.
Sharon
1665
This memory was added on: July 7, 2004
I loved mine and managed to get through by early teen years without knocking myself senseless or get mine confiscated.....I would love to buy a set! Anyone out there know where or how that could be possible?
tric ia
1958
This memory was added on: June 21, 2004
Mine were clear green. My 3 cousins and me got them as presents from our favorite uncle (maybe 10 or 12 years older than us) whom at that time was single, and young enough to truly relate to his nephews and nieces. This uncle was really popular among us kids but had to spend the rest of the evening trying to convince grandma that nothing bad was going to happen to us, while we played happily in the backyard with our new toys. Our klackers also disappeared mysteriously a few days later. ha ha ha :)
Gabbi
1967
This memory was added on: June 13, 2004
My fiance and I were just sitting here trying to think of what these things were called. I cant beleive that I so easily found this site. Anyway I remember my grandfather teaching my how to work them. They were the nice purple glass ones. If I came across a set I would definately buy them.
Dean Jones
1968
This memory was added on: June 1, 2004
Twenty girls lined up on a concrete playground all clacking their Klackers in perfect synchronization. It may have been the single coolest thing I ever participated in as a kid.
Lizzie
1963
This memory was added on: May 13, 2004
ERIC MOODY
1963
This memory was added on: May 13, 2004
I ALWAYS WANTED KLACKERS WHEN I WAS A KID.BUT MY MOM WOULD NOT LET ME HAVE THEM. BUT WHEN I TURNED 40 I HAD GREAT LUCK I FOUND 50 PAIRS OF CLEAR KLACKERS STILL IN THE ORIGANEL PACKS THAT THEY WERE PACKAGED IN FROM THE FACTORY. IN A OLD TOY STORE THAT WAS GOING OUT OF BUSINESS. I WOULD LIKE TO GET RID OF SOME OF THESE IF ANYONE IS ENTERESTED. I HAVE PICTURES OF THEM IF YOU ARE INTERESTED.
ERIC MOODY
1963
This memory was added on: May 8, 2004
Oh, yes..Klackers...My forearms weren't as bruised as my poor wrists! ARGH. man they hurt! I had purple, and my sister had blue. eventually the yellow string wore out, and before we killed each other, my mom sold them at the yard sale for 10 cents!I didn't mind either...stupid bruises!I told my kids the old set was made of glass, and they thought I was crazy---mom,No one would ever make a glass toy like glass...but, alas, I can now show them this site!!! TY
Diana
1957
This memory was added on: April 29, 2004
I have my clear green glass klackers in my curio cabinet as I write this. My kids know they are off limits! I can't believe my parents still have windows and that my brother and sister still have eyes and no brain damage. I went to catholic school and took these with me until some jerky kid tried to steal them. Then no one was allowed to bring them anymore. I can't believe one of the nuns didn't use them as a weapon to punish us with. Or maybe I just can't remember because of the brain damage!
cindy
1961
This memory was added on: April 26, 2004
I found a website that sells klackers. it's: timewarptoys.com click on "toys 1" at the top of the page then scroll down to the end of the 1960's section. interesting they stress "adults only". gee, i wonder why?
jb
1967
This memory was added on: April 20, 2004
I'm trying to find some to purchase. Does anyone have any idea where I can get some? We played with them in the 70's and we called them Kerbangers. I loved them and cant wait to get another pair. It's amazing because none of us know what ever happened to them, they just disappeared.
Cassandra
1968
This memory was added on: April 11, 2004
We called these "KlickKlacks". And perhaps I should be ashamed to say this, but mine are right upstairs in my desk drawer...Why would I keep them?
Krista
1965
This memory was added on: February 27, 2004
Klackers! They were the biggest things to hit our school...for the first few days before they were outlawed. Now that I think back, they were pretty dangerous. Certainly nothing I'd let my kids play with. Actually, now that I come to think of it, most of the toys I had weren't ones I'd let my kids play with!
Kim
1958
This memory was added on: February 19, 2004
I remember them well! I still own all three sets that I and my brother and sister had. To the person who does't recall red colored ones, yes I have red, blue and clear ones and they are the glass version. We were damn lucky to have survived our childhoods but had the coolest toys ever made. I recently bought my kid a Lightbrite and what a piece of crap THAT ws. I hate when companies try to cash in on our memories of GOOD toys with cheap look-a-like imitations. P.S. Anybody remember the game "Tip-iT" ?
Alan
1965
This memory was added on: February 6, 2004
This website blows me away with all the memories it brings back. Klackers were an example of the era, children and parents of yesteryear. We could take the punishment of a dangerous toy and not run off to get a lawyer to make a quick buck. Sit back and think of all the pussies we are raising today.
Frank
1962
This memory was added on: January 27, 2004
I remember them being out lawed in school but boy did we play with them at home. Whacked a few knuckles! Loved the sound.
Susan
1964
This memory was added on: January 3, 2004
I had 'Klackers', my grandmother never liked them she always told me Id put someones eye out....lol
D
This memory was added on: January 2, 2004
I remember these - wow, I loved them! And like everyone else has said, the bruises all over your arm were badges of honor. I remember the store-bought ones weren't so likely to shatter, but then, at every flea market and craft fair you went to, there were all the resin ones the dads were making in their garages. THOSE were the ones that would "put your eye out" - but who cared? They came in more colors, didn't they? I never thought any of them were glass, but resin - but I could have been misled on that of course. Someday if I ever get "my stuff" from my mom's house, I bet I'll find my Klackers there somewhere.
MK
1961
This memory was added on: December 26, 2003
Mine were clear purple. Here is the story of the last time I saw them. I was young enough to be standing on the passenger seat of my mother's car.While the vehicle and the Klackers were in full motion I somehow managed to Klack her on the head.I don't remember anything after that.
jill
1967
This memory was added on: December 20, 2003
I had a pair back around 1977, 1 yellow ball and 1 fuchsia ball. Yes, I suffered bruises. The best place to use them was not outside but in an empty staircase, where they made the coolest resonating, mewling, boinging sound ever. And looking back, as overprotective and danger-paranoid as my mother was, I still can't believe she bought these for me. I still have mine.
maria
1968
This memory was added on: December 15, 2003
I remember the bolo...excellent for taking down squirrels. My friend had one and this bully took it from her and threw it and it got wrapped around a telephone wire. It was up there for years until the day before we moved out of the neighborhood the string finally rotted through and the balls fell just as a car was driving under them and whamo! It was very strange that I was able to be a witness to both events - what could possibly be the odds on that?
Noel
1967
This memory was added on: December 7, 2003
What fun it is to read other peoples memories of the same toy. I had two sets, one purple, really cool but the best set was glow in the dark. the only problem with them is they really only looked cool at night and well they were loud... the res i am sure you can figure out. i am sure my parents still have them hidden in their house somewhere!
Mindy
1957
This memory was added on: November 26, 2003
I love Knockers, er Klackers...these things were a riot.. could be used as a bolo and bring down a drunken clown at thirty yards.
mark
1969
This memory was added on: October 13, 2003
I LOVED my Popper Knockers! We used to play with them for hours! Our arms were all bruised up until we became expert knockers!!! I've been searching eBay for an original pair of them to buy...
Carla
1963
This memory was added on: October 1, 2003
Every summer these would go on sale, and every summer some kid would whack himself int he head and either get knocked out for a few minutes, or wind up with a huge lump on his head. I didn't give a damn, because they were fun.
Jeeves
1967
This memory was added on: September 29, 2003
I remember all the 'Big' kids on my street playing with these, of course I wasn't allowed anywhere near them as I was too small. For some reason, the commercial sticks in my mind especially the glow-in-the-dark ones.
Tina
1976
This memory was added on: September 25, 2003
I had these more than once. We called them Klick Klacks. I don't remember the colors I had (maybe pink) I just remember they disappeared mysteriously. One set I know my mother gave to my older cousins because she thought they were dangerous. I was so mad at her for that! I could NEVER make them go up and down (I didn't have them long enough), but both my older cousins could. I never heard about them shattering until recently. I was wondering what had happened to them and started looking on ebay and learned that about the glass breaking. The ones we owned had a white plastic ring to hold them together. I never saw any on telephone wires, but I do remember that some people knew how to make them. It seems to me that in my neighborhood that this was primarily a girls' toy. I would love to have a pair of original glass ones if I could find them.
Teeyay
1967
This memory was added on: September 22, 2003
I remeber these toys as well. What a beating my arm and wrists took, the welts and bruises..aah these were a blast. One time I cracked by forearm just right and couldn't use my hand to pick anything up, my arm was so sore. The sound they made was very cool. Mine were yellow pale glass. I got in a fight after school and used them to plow my way through kids that were blocking my path. They were toys and weapons in one! Lots of fun.
Tom
1964
This memory was added on: September 3, 2003
The Klackers (Klick Klacks) were huge in my neighborhood, a definite must have!!!! I begged to have one too, my older sister got one first. I can still remember that big round bin at Grandpa's Discount store where we bought my clear green one's. I felt like a king! The coolsest memory though is on one Saturday in the the middle of summer just before sunset. A strange thing happened one of the little boys down the street went to the end of his drive way and started playing his Klick Klacks. The sound echoed off the walls of all the houses! VERY COOL!Spontaiously I ran for my Klick Klacks and made it to the end of my driveway as did 4 or 5 others. We were all pretty good so in unison the sounds echoed everywhere!!!! Till we heard that deafening sickly sound "KNOCK IT OFFF!!!!!!!" Oddly my Klick Klacks dissapeared the next day! Can you believe it? I had to pay $35 on Ebay for a mint pair 25 years later. Heck the memory alone was worth the $35.
Eddie
1965
This memory was added on: August 29, 2003
I still have my original purple glass klackers. Lots of bruises and a few chips but still in tact with a small metal ring to hold onto. I haven't tried to use them anymore but remember I used to be pretty good at it.
annette
1958
This memory was added on: August 19, 2003
these things are so rare you can't even find them on ebay! anyone out there who have them? i have a bad neighbor i'd love to give a pair to. maybe he'll knock himself out.
jb
1967
This memory was added on: August 12, 2003
The quintessential 70's toy memory. I remember really liking them. I think mine were red, but could this be possible?? No one else seems to remember owning a red pair...
Laurie
1962
This memory was added on: August 6, 2003
I had a set in the early seventies, I was about seven at the time. Mine were red and blue. I adored them. One day they just disappeared. I think my mom got rid of them because of the awful noise I made with them:) I would love to buy a pair, if anyone knows where I can find one please e-mail me. In my time they were called Kerbangers.
Cindy
1970
This memory was added on: July 24, 2003
It's funny you should mention that, Kim.....in the old neighborhood where I grew as a kid in the late 60's and 70's (where my mom still lives to this day.)....there's this old side street in the neighborhood...almost like an alley...where there's an OLD faded pair of yellow clackers still strung over the power lines under a large oak tree branch! Unreal, man. Everytime I fly to go visit my mom....I see those things still sitting there, and I even remember the older girl, at the time, that threw those up there round about 1973...give or take a year. I should take a pic and post it on the Net. *L*!
HeyJoe
1964
This memory was added on: July 18, 2003
One generation had hula hoops,one had yo-yos, another had skateboards; we had giant marbles on strings... I remember having the clear purple glass click clacks, and getting them going so fast that they shattered inside. (They were really pretty then, but I was not so stupid as to try and use them.) I think I shattered three sets before we were unable to find any more (most of the other kids on the block had the solid, opaque, sturdy plastic ones.) I don't recall seeing any wound around telephone lines, and I don't remember bruises on our arms, but I do remember that just about everyone in the neighborhood had one! I wish I could find some; they were my favorite toy growing up.
Karen
1961
This memory was added on: July 17, 2003
I had the coolest pair of original purple ones(not the cheap plastic ones now a days) and also had my fair share of purple bruises to go along with them till I perfected them. My older brother took them away one day and tossed them high into the air and they wrapped themselves around the phones lines above....to this day I think they are still there!!
Kim
1957
This memory was added on: July 13, 2003
OMG - I sooo remember these! My Mom's friend used to make them out of resin. My arms were also covered with bruises up and down. But that just prepaired me for the home-made nunchuks after seeing the Bruce Lee movies.
Jim
1961
This memory was added on: July 12, 2003
And who from our generation doesn't remember these?? How many power lines and telephone cables running between the telephone poles did we see these things wrapped around?? *LOL*!!
HeyJoe
1964
This memory was added on: July 5, 2003
I think our parents bought a pair each for my sister (b. 1965) and I. Real glass ones too! Mine were a very pale, transparent lavender. We called them "Klackers". Never broke them or caused injury that I can recall, but our folks confiscated them after a short time. They were LOUD!! But we loved them--and they were all the rage at school...
Debbie
1961
This memory was added on: July 3, 2003
I could never really get these to klack more than a few times in a row. I think I suffered more injuries from these than anything... but all the cool kids had them. I lived in a big city so after the klackers were around for a while, they started appearing strung over telephone wires next to the old pairs of Converse gym shoes-
DCT
1963
This memory was added on: June 17, 2003
every time i wondered if my parents really cared about me, i realize they did because they never bought me klackers
jb
1967
This memory was added on: June 15, 2003
Bruised wrists pain... My sister got a pair for Christmas....Only had a small ring to hang on to them with unlike the saftey things I bought my daughter recently called KANNOCKERS. No damage at all.
Tricia
This memory was added on: June 15, 2003
Bruised wrists pain... My sister got a pair for Christmas....Only had a small ring to hang on to them with unlike the saftey things I bought my daughter recently called KANNOCKERS. No damage at all.
Tricia
1966
This memory was added on: June 8,2003
I remember Klackers so well. At the time I was living in the UK and it was the in thing in the school playgrounds in the 70s. My parents would never buy me one but my neighbour Julie was considered the Queen of Klackers and she had the bruises from her wrists and all the way up her arms to prove it. To us kids they were like badges of honour!
Wendy B
1964
This memory was added on: June 7, 2003
I had the glass ball versions known both as "Klackers" and "Klickitty-Klacks". Like the others who've posted, I too remember beating myself (and my friends) to death with these things. I can still vividly recall seeing countless numbers of them entangled within phone & power lines throughout my neighborhood & around town. In retrospect, I'm amazed that these were even allowed on the store shelves.
Stefani
1963
This memory was added on: June 6, 2003
I can remember how bad it would hurt when you'd hit your forearm with them. You could really get these things clacking.
Neal
1961
This memory was added on: June 6, 2003
I thought they were "Click Klacks" oh well. I do know they were very dangerous and loud. I was about 6 when all the kids had them. Clicking them was fun for awhile , then smashing them on the cement became the pastime. Throwing then into the phone wires was also popular. I remember seeing them make a comeback but they were plastic and the strings were replaced with sticks. obviously no fun!
brian
1965
This memory was added on: June 6, 2003
Wow!...I had a set of clear ones..my fave..and I played with em for years..I swear they sold with the name "Kabongers"..let me know if this sounds right.I thin they are still up in my parents attic!
Cathy Stewart
1956
This memory was added on: June 5, 2003
I was "lucky" to have had the real Klackers. Even luckier because they were purple! I think I got pretty good at them eventually, but I remember having all shades of blue, green and purple bruises up and down my arm! Does anyone else remember how these could slip out of your hand and take on a life of their own? Talk about dangerous!! I loved them.
Marisa
1960
This memory was added on: May 21, 2003
there was a kid that lived behind me that made these, I don't know what kind of machine he had but he would make them in our school colors. Man I loved my clackers but ended up with black and blue arms. But it didn't matter, you had to practice to be the best on the block. And it was all worth it when you got them to make that clacking sound, that meant you were good. :)
Karin Lyn
1962
This memory was added on: May 16, 2003
I remember playing with these on the payground at school and was known as the champ! One time I used a friend's set that were made of glass and they shattered. Then I got my own that were made of plastic. I uncovered them the other day from a box of childhood stuff in my basement and really impressed my kids when I showed them what they could do. It came back to me just like riding a bike!
mary
1961
This memory was added on: May 15, 2003
I'd completely forgotten about this weapon... er, I mean toy. I still have dents & cracks in my forehead from these things! I don't recall them being on the market too long, probably due to the fact that they were nothing more than a disguised Australian bolo. As I recall, they were made of some type of tempered glass and yet they easily chipped and even shattered if slammed onto a hard surface.
Ed
1961
This memory was added on: May 13, 2003
I remember my mom buying me a set of Klackers when I was around five or so. My cousin took them to school and her teacher confiscated them.
Dee
1965
This memory was added on: May 11, 2003
Klackers were a big no-no. The one set we bought our daughter was quickly gotten rid of, as soon as her daddy got through playing with it.
Anne
1949
Rodixe
This memory was added on: May 10, 2003
Mine were clear green and I got them when I had my tonsils taken out, about 1970. They were really heavy, because they were glass, and I couldn't do much with them, but I loved them. I'm glad they took them off the market, tho, because I can remember mine chipping and cracking, and pieces flying off. Maybe they couldn't have put an eye out, but they were kinda scary!!
Anita
1965
This memory was added on: May 9, 2003
For a brief time I remember every girl in the playground whipping them up and down during recess, think it was in 1970 or 71. My older sister had some but the teachers confiscated em. Some kind of made up safety thing, it was probably the God Awful racket.
stu
1964
This memory was added on: May 8, 2003
I ALWAYS WANTED KLACKERS, BUT MY MOTHER HEARD I COULD LOSE A EYE (I GUESS THEY SHADDERED AT L) . WELL I FINALLY GOT A SET AND WAS BUMMED THEY WERE NOT THE CLEAR ONES,THAT LOOKED LIKE GLASS (THE DANGEROUS SET) THE WERE SOLID RED AND YELLOW (UGLY).
DEB
1962
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